Tuesday, April 26, 2011
I woke up in Valdosta, Georgia this morning. It was a cloudy, overcast, gray day. The temperature was in the high 70s and the air felt humid. We packed up the car and easily drove to Route 41. We wanted to continue our trip north on the slower road, instead of the 70 mile per hour Route 75.
Corner Pawn Shop in Valdosta, Georgia
We drove through Valdosta. It was not a prosperous city and there seemed to be no tourism. This part of Georgia looks a lot like northern Florida. The land is very flat and the earth looks sandy. There are many palm trees interspersed with southern long-needle pine trees.
Southwestern Georgia
We continued through the tiny towns of Hahira, Adel, Tifton, Inaha, and Cordele, and many, many more. All the towns are now a blur of buildings and cars. At some point, we decided to make up time and got on Route 75. There is “cruise control” on my car and once it is set, the drive was pretty easy because there wasn’t much traffic.
Thousands of Billboards on Route 75
Somewhere around “middle Georgia”, the terrain changed. There were more green trees and tall green grass and no palm trees. The architecture of the houses looked more like upstate New York. We passed by large fields and farmland. We saw roadside stands selling Vidalia onions and strawberries. Thousands of ugly commercial billboards along the highway kept our brains occupied on Route 75 as we drove for several hours. They should be outlawed for ruining the beauty of Nature!!
All Kinds of Advertisements
The draw of advertisements finally enticed us to stop at the “Magnolia Plantation” for fresh roasted pecans. The outside of the building was mock-columned mansion and the inside was a large commercial space. After our purchases of peanut brittle and pecan halves, we resumed the drive on the highway.
Magnolia Plantation Pecans
We finally reached Macon, Georgia and drove through the city. The part of the city which we drove through looked like a poor community with many pawn shops, empty stores, and foreclosure signs. Two of the attractions in the city are the Harriet Tubman Museum & Information Center and the Music Hall of Fame. Macon is supposed to have the largest historic district in the state of Georgia. We didn’t stop to see it.
After Macon, we picked up Route 129 northbound. We stopped in the town of Gray long enough for Jeff to go into a local Krystal fast-food restaurant for a small hamburger. He had read about the company and wanted to try one. It looked gross to me!
Abandoned House on the Side of the Road
Athens was our next goal, and on the way we drove through the towns of Eatonton and Madison. Eatonton was the birthplace of Alice Walker, the author who wrote The Color Purple. The town is also the birthplace of author and journalist, Joel Chandler Harris who wrote The Uncle Remus Stories. There is a statue of Brer Rabbit – born and bred in the briar patch – in a park in the town.
We made a wrong turn in Madison, which gave us an opportunity to explore the historic town a bit. It had interesting architecture and looked somewhat prosperous. According to Wikipedia, most of Madison’s one hundred Antebellum houses have been restored, which earned the town the title of “The Prettiest Small Town in America.
Antebellum House in Madison, GA
The story is that Sherman spared the town because it was too beautiful to burn during his March to the Sea. Historians say that the reason the town was spared was because a pro-Union Senator lived there. The Senator attended West Point with General Sherman’s brother. So, political causes won out over aesthetics. We saw lovely antebellum houses which lined both sides of the road north of Madison.
Main Street Madison, Georgia
We finally reached Athens, Georgia and paid mental homage to our former President Jimmy Carter and his brother, Billy. We drove on the perimeter road and bypassed the city entirely. North of Athens, we found Route 441 North and drove toward the mountains. The terrain became more hilly and the road had more twists and turns.
About an hour later, we arrived in the town of Cornelia. Believe it or not, there is a Hampton Inn in town! We had a bit of trouble finding the hotel because it was partially hidden behind another hotel, but we finally spotted a sign. In a town of about 3800 people, Cornelia had four hotels and many fast-food restaurants. We wondered who came here and why.
We found Gusben’s Restaurant on Main Street and enjoyed a good dinner from their fresh salad bar. This was our third long driving day and I was tired.
Main Street in Cornelia, Georgia
We made good time and covered a vast amount of land from Key West Florida to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I am really ready for a “down day”.
The Salad Bar in Gusben’s Restaurant